For SATB soloists, SATB choir, and orchestra. There is no single definitive version of "Messiah" because Handel continually made revisions to the score during his lifetime to improve or adapt it to the skills of individual performers or to the specific needs of a given occasion. This edition presents the standard version familiar to most people, complete with a new, practical piano reduction. The appendix contains most of Handel's alternative movements and transpositions. The full score includes all alternative movements and transpositions in their correct order, and all material is clearly indicated and cross-referenced with the vocal score. Clifford Bartlett provides a text that is as close as possible to the sources, yet focused on the needs of performers. Both the full and vocal scores offer guidelines for performance practice, and the vocal score includes a piano reduction suitable for both rehearsal and solo performances.